Door check structure



Nov. 6, 1956 P. H. TRAvls ET AL DooR CHECK STRUCTURE 2 sheets-sheet 1Filed NOV. 6, 1950 INVENTORS PAUL HJRAVIS DAVID R.sTAM

ATTORNEYS Nov. 6, 1956 P. H. TRAVIS ET AL DOOR CHECK STRUCTURE 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 6, 1950 ATTORNEYS DOOR CHECK STRUCTURE Paul H.Travis, Leonard, and David R. Stamy, Huntington Woods, Mich.; said Stamyassignor to said Travis Application November 6, 1951), Serial No.194,212

7 Claims. (Cl. 16-85) The present invention relates to door checkstructure, and more particularly to a door check structure designed forcontrolling opening and closing movement of a vehicle door, andparticularly to limit swinging movement of the door to retain the doorin full open position against light forces tending to close the door.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a combined doorcontrolling and check structure characterized by its simplicity, theeconomy with which it may be produced and installed, the efliciency withwhich it controls the operation of the door, and the exibility of designwhich permits the introduction f changes in the door operation asdesired.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a door checkand controlling structure including a swinging arm for controllingrelative movement between a door part and a frame part, the arm beingmounted for swinging movement to one of said parts and cooperating withan abutment carried by the other of said parts, the other of the partsincluding a roller on which the arm exerts a camming action, and aspring connected to the free end of said arm.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent as thedescription proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a horizontal sectional view through a portion of a door anddoor frame illustrating the relationship of parts with the door inclosed position.

Figure 2 is a View similar to Figure l showing the relationship of partswith the door in full open position.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section on the line 3--3, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section on the line 4-4, Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view illustrating a'modiie'd design ofswinging arm.

Referring now to the drawings there is illustrated a hollow vehicle doorwhich is mounted by suitable means (not shown) for swinging movementabout a xed axis 12, this being the axis of the usual hinges providedfor the door. The door frame includes a pillar, a portion of which isshown at 14, and this constitutes a stationary support for a part of thedoor controlling structure. Rigidly secured to the pillar 14 are a pairof brackets 16 forming a trunnion support for a swinging arm 18, the arm18 being mounted for swinging movement by a pin 20 extending throughsuitable openings formed in the ears 22 of the bracket 16.

The door 10 is closedat its hinged edge by a sheet metal part 24 inwhich an opening 26 is provided through which the ears 22 extend whenthe door is in the closed position illustrated in Figure l. Secured tothe inner surface of the metal part 24 is a supporting bracket 30including an inwardly extending ange 32, a at portion 34 welded orotherwise secured to the metal part 24, inwardly extending anges 36 and38 interconnected by a slotted at portion 40, and a second ilat portion42 welded or other- 2,769,197 Patented Nov. 6, 1956 wise secured to themetal part 24. The bracket is located inwardly of the edge of the doorand carries an elongated metal channel member 50 designed to guide theswinging arm 18 and to serve as an abutment for limiting openingmovement of the door. The member 50 is of generally inverted U-shapedcross-section and is provided with a pair of outwardly extending flanges52 by means of which it is attached to the ilat portion 40 of thebracket 30, such for example as by rivets 53. The central portion of themember 50 comprises a plate 54 having a central guiding slot 56 thereinthrough which the arm 18 extends. Connecting the-plate 54 and theflanges 52 are spaced parallel flanges 58 which are apertured as bestseen in Figure 3, to carry a pin 60 on which is mounted a roller 62. Theroller 62 is thus located directly adjacent the slot 56, as best seen inFigure 3, in position to be engaged by one side of the swinging arm 18.At its outer end the arrn 18 is provided with an enlarged head portion64 and carries a rubber bumper 66, a washer 68 being interposed betweenthe head 64 and the bumper 66.

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At the outer end of the member 50 the plate 54 thereof is bent up todene a spring eye 70. The head 64 of the arm is provided with an opening72. A tension spring 74 is connected at one end to the spring eye 70 andat the other end to the opening 72, Thus the spring 74 exerts acounterclockwise torque on the arm 18.

The various forces exerted by the structure described are believed to beapparent from an inspection of Figures 1 and 2, but will be brieiiyreviewed. The line of action of the spring 74 in open, closed, or anyintermediate position, always lies to the left of the hinge axis 12 ofthe door so that the tension of the spring exerts a force on the springeye 70 always tending to move the door toward closed position. Thisforce is variable due to variation in tension of the spring and due tochanges in the line of action of the spring 74. The surface of the arm18 which is engaged by the roller 62 operates as a camming surface andexerts a force on the roller 62 which at all times tends to move thedoor toward open position, since all lines drawn perpendicular to anypoint on the camming surface through the axis of the roller 62 lie abovethe hinge axis, as seen in Figures l and 2, in all positions of thedoor. This force is variable throughout swinging movement of the doordue to the cam conto-ur of the surface of the arm, the variation inmechanical advantage due to relative movement of the roller toward andaway from the pivot axis of the arm, and due to variations in thetension of the spring. By variations in the cam contour of the springarm it is possible to obtain any desired door action. In practice, thearm is designed such that the overall resultant forces on the door urgethe door shut when it is barely open. However, when the door reaches apartially open position, as between half and two-thirds open, theoverall resultant forces of the structure described are in a dooropening direction.

One of the important features of the present invention is the contour ofthe arm 18 adjacent the free end thereof. Adjacent its vfree end the armis provided with an offset portion which forms a relatively abruptcamming surface I82 which in turn cooperates with the roller to exert apowerful door opening movement when the door approaches full openposition. The arrangement is such that the resultant forces developed bycamming surface 82 on roller 62 will swing the door strongly to fullopen position and will retain it in full open position against lightclosing forces. Normally, doors are mounted such that they tend to swingby gravity toward closed position. They are also subject to closingforces developed by inclination of the vehicle and external forces suchfor example as the wind. The cam surface 82 is of sucient depth and ofsuthcient inclination that the opeens? door will be retained in fullopen position against these aforesaid relatively light closing forces.However, the surface SZ is so inclined that the door may be manuallyclosed without substantial effort.

The rubber bumper o6 absorbs the shock if the door is slammed to fullopen position and permits the cam surface S2 to engage the roller 62. soas to retain the door in open position, even though it has been slammedopen.

Referring now to Figure 5 these is illustrated a variation in design. Inthis case the arm 100 is mounted for swinging movement about a fixedsupport axis to). ca.- ried by the body hinge pillar. Located within thedoor is a guide and abutment channel member 104 provided with a slot N6through which the arm l0@ extends. The member 104I includes spaced sidewalls w8 between which is pivoted a roller llt). At its outer end thearm lite is provided with a head 112 having an opening iid therein forthe attachment of one end of a tension spring 116. The other end of thetension spring 116 is secured to a spring eye 118 formed on a mountingbracket i219. The door is illustrated as mounted for opening and closingswinging movement about a hinge axis 122. In this construction it willbe observed that with the door in closed position the lin-e of action ofthe spring E16 passes substantially through the hinge axis 122 of thedoor so that no door opening or closing effect is transmitted throughthe spring eye H8. At the same time the cam portion 124 of the arm lo@is generally concentric with the hinge axis ZZ so that there is nocamming action exerted by the arm on the door through the medium of theroller strongly toward full open position and to retain it in suchposition.

With the embodiment illustrated in Figure 5 it will be appreciated thatsince cam portion 124 is concentric with hinge axis 22 the arm 100 issubstantially stationary during initial opening movement of the dooruntil the roller passes from the cam portion 124- to the cam portion126, after which the arm swings counterclockwise as seen in Figure 5until the cam portion 130 comes into action. in the embodimentillustrated in Figures l-4 inclusive thc cam contour of the arm is suchthat the arm swings continuously during opening and closing movement ofthe door, thus introducing a continuous variation in spring tension,line of action of the spring, and the direction of the force applied tothe door by cam action on the roller 62.

The two different designs of arms have been specifically illustratedprimarily to indicate the iiexibility of design. The arm 13 or 00 ispreferably formed of sheet metal so that it may be stamped or otherwiseformed with any desired contour. Thus, by a simple change in the camstructure of the arm, the overall action of the door may be changed asdesired. In both of the embodiments illustrated however, the design ofthe swinging arm is such that the overall action of all forces acting onthe door is to urge the door toward closed position as it approachesclosed position. This action tends to insure proper latching of the doorwhen the door is mechanically swung toward closed position.

The drawings and the foregoing specication constitute a description ofthe improved door check structure in such full, clear, concise and exactterms as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice theinvention, the scope of which is indicated by the appended claims.

What we claim as our invention is:

l. in a motor vehicle body having a door pillar and a door pivotallymounted thereon, said door having inner and outer panels and a jambface, a bracket secured to said door pillar and projecting toward thejamb face of said door, a check arm pivotally connected to said bracketand extending through an opening in the jamb face of said door into theinterio of said door between said inner and outer door panels, saidcheck arm comprising a flat elongated stamping having a irst generallystraight portion extending from said pivotal connection a distancegreater than half the distance to the terminal end portion of said checkarm and a second generally straight portion extending from adjacent thetermination of said iirst portion to the terminal end of said check arm,said second portion being generally parallel to said first portion butbeing oiset laterally with respect thereto toward said inner door panel,the rst and second portions of said check` arm being interconnected byan intermediate portion extending diagonally to said second portion andhaving a cam edge facing away from the jamb face of the door, said camedge forming an obtuse angle with the longitudinal axis of the irstportion of said check arm and having a length greater than the width ofsaid first portion, the terminal end of the second portion of said checkarm having a part projecting therefrom toward said outer door panel, arubber bumper sleeved on the second portion of said check arm andbearing against the outwardly projecting part of the terminal end ofsaid second portion to assist in retaining the bumper thereon, a U-shaped supporting bracket mounted within said door and secured to thejamb face thereof, said supporting bracket having a base extendinggenerally parallel to said jamb face and having a slot through which acheck arm extends, a generally vertical roller pivotally mounted withinsaid supporting bracket adjacent the base of said bracket and at theside of the slot therein nearest said outer door panel, a lug formedintegrally with the base of said supporting bracket adjacent said outerdoor panel and projecting away from said door jamb face, said lug andthe outwardly projecting part formed on the terminal end of the secondportion of said check arm being provided with openings therein, and acoil spring having its opposite ends connected to the openings in saidlug and the terminal end of said check arm to continually urge saidcheck arm toward outer door panel and into engagement with said roller.

2. Door check structure for controlling opening and closing of anoutwardly opening hollow door having an inner side and an outer side andhinged at one edge to a frame having corresponding inner and outer sideson a hinge axis adjacent the outer sides of said door and frame, a rigidcheck arm having an enlaged head at one end, pivot means adapted tomount the other end of said arm on the frame on a pivot axis adjacentthe inner side thereof, a roller adapted to be mounted within the doorinwardly from its hinged edge beyond a line joining said axes when thedoor is closed and spaced toward the inner side of the door from saidhinge axis and located generally between said axes, a spring supportadapted to be mounted within the door at a point adjacent its outer sideand spaced substantially from said hinge axis, and a tension springconnecting said spring support and the headed end of said arm urgingsaid arm toward the hinge axis and maintaining said arm in contact witha side of said roller in all positions of the door, the side of saidcheck arm engaging said roller and adjacent said pivot axis beingconcavely curved so that in all positions of the door approaching closedposition, a line radial of said roller and perpendicular to the point onsaid arm engaged thereby lies at the doorward side of said hinge axis.

3. Door check structure for controlling opening and closing movement ofa hollow door having spaced inner and outer side walls and a slottededge wall connecting said inner and outer walls, the door being hingedto a frame for swinging about an axis located outwardly beyond the edgewall and adjacent to the outer wall of the door; said door checkstructure comprising a pivot mounting adapted to be secured to the framein a position to provide a pivot axis adjacent the inner side of theedge wall of the door, a rigid check arm pivoted at one end to saidpivot mounting and adapted to extend through the slo-t in the edge wallof the door, the other end of said arm having an enlarged head thereon,guide means cooperable with said check arm comprising a channel adaptedto be secured to the inner surface of the edge wall of the door, saidchannel having side walls and a web spaced inwardly from the edge of thedoor and parallel to the slot in the door, said web provided with a slotextending longitudinally thereof through which said check arm extends, aroller mounted on a fixed axis extending between the side walls of saidchannel and spanning the slot in the web of said channel, the head onsaid arm being engageable with said channel to limit opening movement ofthe door, and a tension spring having one end connected to the headedend of said arm and its other end connected to said guide means at apoint closely adjacent to the outer side of the door.

4. Door check structure for controlling swinging movement of a hollowdoor part to and from closed position in an opening in a hollow framepart, the door and frame parts having edge walls which are substantiallyparallel and closely spaced when the door is closed, one of the edgewalls having a slot therethrough: said door check structure comprising apivot support adapted to be secured to the other edge wall in positionto extend through the slot in the slotted edge wall when the door partis closed, a rigid check arm pivoted at one end to said pivot supportand having an enlarged head at its other end, unitary guide meanscooperable with said check arm adapted to be secured as a unit to theinner surface of the slotted edge wall, said means comprising a channelhaving a slotted web adapted to be spaced inwardly from the slotted edgewall with its slot substantially parallel to the slot in the edge Walland having spaced side walls, a roller extending across said channel andpivotally mounted to a fixed axis extending to the side walls thereof,the enlarged head on said arm being engageable with said channel tolimit opening movement of the door, a spring mounting onsaid unitaryguide means, and a tension spring connecting said spring mounting andthe headed end of said arm and located on said unitary guide means inposition to urge said arm toward the hinge axis ofthe door and againstsaid roller.

5. :Door scheel( Istructure for controlling opening and closing of :anoutwardly Iopening hollow door having lan inner side and an outer sidelandjhinged lat one edge to a frame having corresponding inner .andouter sides on `a hinge Iaxis adjacent the outer sides of said door .andframe, ya yrigid Icheck arm having an enlarged head `at one end, pivotmeans adapted to mount the other end of said arm `on the fframe on apivot axis :adjacentthe inner side thereof, :a roller adapted to bemounted Within the door inwardly from its hinged edge beyond `a iinejoining said axes when the door is closed and spaced toward the innerside of the door from said hinge axis and located generally 'betweensaid axes, a .spring support adapted to be mounted within the door fatla point adjacent its outer side and spaced substantially from saidhinge axis, and a tension spring connecting said spring support vand theheaded `end of said arm urging said arm toward the hinge lax-is andmaintaining .a side of said arm in Icontact with said roller in Iallpositions of the door, the side of said arm in contact with `saidrol-ler heing shaped such that with the door closed, said side divergesgradually outwardly from a concave portion generally con-centric withsaid hinge axis and passing through the point of engagement between saidside and said roller.

6. Door check structu-re for controlling opening and closing of anoutwardly opening hollow door having an -inner side and an outer sideand hinged at one edge to a frame having corresponding inner :and outersides on a Ihinge `axis adjacent the outer sides of said door and frame,a rigid check arm havin-g an enlarged head at one end, pivot meansadapted to mount the other end -o'f said arm on the fname on a pivotaxis adjacent the inner side thereof, a roller :adapted to be mountedwithin the door inwardly from its hinged edge beyond a yline joiningsaid axes when the door is closed .and spaced toward the inner side ofthe door from said hinge axis and located generally fbetween said axes,a spring support adapted lto he mounted within .the door at Ia pointadjacent its outer side and spaced substantially from said hinge axis,and a tension spring connecting said spring support and the headed endof said arm urging said arm toward the hinge axis and maintaining a.side of said arm in contact with said Aroller in all positions `of thedoor, said spring suppont being located substantially on a line joiningthe headed end of said arm and said hinge axis when the door .is closed.

7. Door Vcheck structure for controlling opening and closing of anoutwardly opening hollow door having an innerV side-and an outer sideand hinged at one edge to -a frame having corresponding inner and outersides on a hinge axis adjacent the outer sides of said door and trame, arigid check arm having an enlarged head at one end, pivot means adaptedto mount the other end of said arm on the frame on a pivot axis adjacentthe inner side thereof, a rol-ler adapted to be mounted within the doorinwardly from its hinged edge beyond a line joining said .axes when thedoor is close-d and spaced toward the inner side of the door .from :saidhinge axis :and =looated generally between said axes, -a vspring support:adapted to be mounted within the door at .a point adjacent its outerside .and spaced substantially from said hinge axis, .and a tension.spring lconnecting' said spring support and the headed end of said armurging said arm toward the hinge axis and `maintaining a side of saidarm -in contact with said roller in all positions of the door, saidroller-engaging side of .said :check arm lcomprising :an incl-ined doorclosing cam lsurface :adjacent its pivroted end, an oppositely inclineddoor opening cam `surface adjacent its 'headed end, and .a shoulderinter-mediate sa-id second .cam surface and its headed `end facing awayfrom the pivoted end of said arm.

References Cited in the le ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 222,767Wright Dec. 16, 1'879 1,357,655 Sandell Nov. 2, 1920 1,443,462 Eastman nJan. 30, y1923 1,776,346 Buingt-on Sept. 23, 19130 2,290,33'1 JacobsJuly 2l, 1942 2.513,75'1 Semar July 4, 1950 2,639,458 Travis May `2'6,\195'3

